Balancing monorail figure toy



Oct. 29, 1963 D. w. SHANKS BALANCING MONORAIL FIGURE TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 30, 1960 Oct, 29, 1963 D. w. SHANKS BALANCING MONORAIL FIGURE TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 30. 1960 INVENTOR fifAL/p' Wflymms ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofi ice 3,108,397 Patented Oct. 29, 1963 3,i)$,37 BALANCING MONGRAE FIGURE TGY Deliis W. Ehanks, 1629 E. Virlee St, Santa Ana, (Ialif. Filed Dec. 30, 19ml, Ser. No. 79,767 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-1ilii) This invention relates to a novel construction of a balancing roller skate attachment for use with figurines, mannikins, dolls, toys, etc.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a balancing skate that may be attached to conventional figurines and mannikins, dolls and toys, so that such articles may be operated on tight wires and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a skate attachment that may be utilized with either small toys or with full life-size mannikins and models, as in amusement parks, window displays, etc.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an attachment that may be utilized to balance a figure on either a tight wire or alternatively on a plane surface such as a table top, a pedestal, or even on a finger tip.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more readily apparent upon an examination of the drawings and the detailed description hereto appended, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred form of the invention, showing a figure having the attachment secured thereto and mounted on a tight rope;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view showing the figure as initially placed on the supporting wire;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on a plane as indicated by the line 3-6 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on a plane as indicated by the lines 44 of FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of a modified form of the invention wherein the balancing mechanism is attached to one leg of the figure and the skate is attached to the other leg thereof and showing the figure as initially placed on the supporting wire.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 5, there is shown a figure, indicated generally at It), which may be a figurine, a mannikin, a doll or a toy of various descriptions and sizes. The FIGURE 10 has a balancing skate attachment, indicated generally at 12, detachably secured to one of its foot members 14. The skate member 12 is comprised of an inverted generally U-shaped base member 16 having a bight portion 18 and two downwardly extending generally triangular leg or flan e members 26 and 22. A grooved wheel 24, having a shaft 26 extending therethrough is positioned between the leg members 2% and 2,2, with the shaft 25 being journaled in apertures 28 provided in the flange members 2% and 22. An aperture 39 is provided in the bight portion 18 of the skate member 12, for reception of a screw 32 or other securing means for detachably securing the skate 12 to the foot 14 of the figure lit. The apex of the downwardly extending triangular flange members 24) and 22- is arcuate in shape, as at 34, and extends slightly below the grooved wheel 24, as may be best seen in FIG- URE 2.

The flange members 20 and 22 each have a pair of apertures 36 and 38 extending transversely therethrough 2 adjacent the bight portion 18 for reception of a substantially J-shaped supporting rod member 40 having a bight portion 42, a short leg 44 and a long leg 46. The legs 44 and 46 of the member 43 are passed through the aligned apertures 36 and 38 so that the bight portion 42 is disposed adjacent and parallel to flange 22. The free end of short leg 44 is bent at a right angle as at 4-3 and lies in a plane adjacent and parallel to fiange 20. The long leg 46 is bent as at 50 at right angles to and extending downwardly in a direction away from the bight portion 18 of the skate member 12'. A balancing member 52 is detachably secured to the free end portion of leg member 46. The weight of the balancing member 52 is slightly heavier than the total weight of FIGURE 10, which keeps the FIGURE 10 in an erect and balanced position at all times. The balancing member 52 is detachably secured so that other balancing members having a different weight may be substituted therefor to accommodate figures of varying sizes and weights. By reason of the disposition of the rod member 40 within the apertures 36 and 38 of the flange members 20 and 22, the balancing member 52 is rigidly suspended from the skate member 12. This is necessary in that if rod 40 is left free to oscillate the device will not operate properly to balance the FIGURE 10.

In operation the grooved wheel 24 may be set on an inclined tight wire 54, so that when the FIGURE 10 is released, it will ride down the wire 54 in an erect and balanced position. Alternatively, the apex-portion 34- of the flanges 2i) and 22 may be set upon a table edge (not shown) or a persons fingertip (not shown), in which position the figure will remain in a balanced position.

In FIGURE 6 a modified form of the invention is shown, wherein represents a toy figure having a skate member 62 detachably secured to one of the feet 64 of the figure 6t). Detachably secured to the other leg 66 of the FIGURE 60 is a balancing member, indicated generally at 63. The balancing member 68 is comprised of an attaching rod 76} having a horizontally disposed clamping portion 72 of generally U-shaped configuration and an integral downwardly extending laterally offset portion 74, having a weight member '76 detachably secured to the free end thereof. The clamping portion 72 of the balancing member 63 is secured to the leg 66, with the weight member 76 being disposed under and generally centrally of the FIGURE 60 to achieve proper balancing thereof. The modified form of the invention operates in substantially the same manner as does the preferred form.

While having shown and described the preferred forms of the invention, it should be readily apparent that numerous alterations and modifications of the invention could be made without departing from the scope of the hereto appended claim.

What I claim is:

in combination, a figure toy for operation upon a tight rope having a pair of downwardly extending rigid legs, a grooved wheel mounted for rotation on the foot of one of said legs, a supporting rod having one end thereof clamped to and depending from the other of said legs, said supporting rod being laterally displaced in a direction toward said one leg, and a balancing member detachably secured to said supporting rod, said balancing member being located under and substantially centrally of said figure toy.

Adamson Oct. 3, 1876 Mathieu July 12, 1921 

